Two faces of Swan
by melisanda
Summary: New Moon AU: after Edward's departure, Bella develops multiple personality disorder. Hungry for revenge, her alter ego strikes a bargain with Victoria.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing. Also this is my first story and English isn't my native language so be gentle.**

**xxx**

_Bella, we're leaving._

That's how the nightmare starts. That's how it always starts. There is the forest of course. And there is..._him._ Bella watches _his_ beautiful face. She is watching as _he_ says his lines. Always the same. Always cruel and inevitable. All she can do is listen and repeat her part. She has to try to change it this time, change _his_ mind, change the outcome. Maybe if she try hard enough _he_ wouldn't leave her again. But whatever she says, she will always hear:

_My world is not for you._

And she will always try her line _You can have my soul. I don't want it without you - its yours already!_

But as usual, it won't help anything.

Bella remembers what _his_ next words will be. As much as she struggles, as much she fights too wake up, she knows its no use. So she screams, cries and whimpers, but she still can hear the words, which are like daggers piercing her lungs and heart.

_Bella, I don't want you to come with me._

_You... don't... want me?_

_No._

There are of course her arguments and pleas, as futile as ever. And finally _he _leaves. She calls _him _again and again but _he_ doesn't come back. _He _never does. But _his_ words are echoing through the forest.

… _Don't want you... not for you... your soul... for your own good... too come... last time you ever see me... Don't want you... Don't want you... DON'T WANT YOU!... for your own good._

_For your own good _says Laurent, as he grabs her from behind, immobilizing her, tilting her head on the left. She sees his teeth dripping with venom. _If you only knew what she had planned for you..._

_Edward I love you! _She screams, as she closes her eyes shut, waiting for the pain. This is all her fault. If only she was prettier, smarter, better... Maybe _he_ wouldn't leave her to death.

This is the moment when she usually wakes up screaming in her own bed. It happened so many times now, that she subconsciously knows what to expect. It's a routine of sorts, sad, horrible routine. That's why Bella is so surprised when she doesn't wake up. Slowly she opens her eyes and there is no Laurent and no _him_. But there is someone else. At first Bella thinks she is looking at herself. Girl in front of her is identical to her in every way. Except for the eyes. In this girls eyes she sees steel.

_You are pathetic._ Says stranger with disdain. It is Bella's own voice but without hesitation and shyness that was always there. This voice holds concentrated, predatory strength. _Edward left you,and all you can do is blame yourself and wallow in self pity. It's a shame we share the same body._

_You... What... Who are you? _Bella asks in confusion and fear. For some reason this girl scares her even more than vampires and werewolves.

_I'm someone who's gonna help you fix your sorry life. It's quite simple really. You're too weak, too broken to even admit what you truly want, so I had to come._

_And what in your opinion do I want?_

Girl responds with mirthful laughter. Than she slowly calms down and looks deeply in Bella's eyes.

_You want vengeance. You want Edward to pay for what he did too you. You want too squeeze the apologies out of his bloody mouth._

Bella takes a deep breath. And not because of the hole in her chest which is aching mercilessly when this stranger so carelessly uses _his_ name. This stranger which wants to hurt him. To hurt him! And she dares to insinuate that Bella herself wants too...

_How dare you! How dare you suggest that I could ever... It's not his fault that he stopped loving me. I would never..._

_You can say those lies all you want, you will not convince yourself. But perhaps this is a conversation for another time. My name is Isa by the way. You'll be seeing me again soon._

Bella wakes up. It's still night. Her eyes are fearful, her breaths erratic. She sits on the bed, glancing all over her room, but she's alone. There is no girl with cold eyes. No... Isa. Of course there is no one in here, you silly! - she scolds herself mentally. This was just a dream. Just a new variation of her regular good old nightmare.

And what this dream girl said wasn't true. Bella loves _him_. She would never do anything to hurt _him_. And not because she knows she wouldn't manage to hurt a vampire, or because she doesn't know where too find _him_. She just wouldn't do anything to _him_. No matter that_ he _declared to be with her forever and then broke that promise. No matter that now she is on Victoria's hit list and _he_ didn't even think... didn't care that could happen. No matter that now she walks around with invisible wound _he _left after himself. No matter that she wakes up screaming every night because _he_ removed himself from her life. She loves and forgives no matter what. She repeats that in her head a couple of times more. She feels slightly better.

xxx

Next morning Bella goes too school in relatively stable mood. She says her goodbyes to Charley, she walks into her car, she starts the engine... And something catches her eye. Her reflection in car's mirror winks at her! Bella's heart stops for a moment. Bella is...

… Sitting on the bed in her room looking at sunset through the window. Wait the second. WHAT? She stands up. Starts pacing in circles around her room. What just happened?

What... She's going insane. She has a big memory gap. She has no idea what has she been doing all day. She checks the watch. It's 17.00. She reaches her cellphone with shaking hands. Dials the first number she can think of. Doesn't wait long until Jessica picks up.

"Bella hi. What's up? Are you sick or something?"

Good question, Bella thinks.

"Sick? Why?"

"Duh! You weren't at school today."

Bella's heart quickens. Oh, no, no, no, no! She is definitely sick. What is that? Is that a brain tumor? Or...A memory of her own yet not her own face stands before her eyes. No! It's nothing like that. It must be a sign of stress. Lord knows she's been having a lot of that lately.

"Yeah, its just a cold. I should be okay tomorrow. Thanks, bye!"

"Wait! Wha..." Bella hangs up.

She falls on the bed and closes her eyes. Nothing is going on. NOTHING is going on! Whatever that was it's just stress! Just stress! She is not going mad. If only _he_ was with her. Thinking that was a bad idea. Invisible wound in her chest started pulsating all over again.

Bella rolls over with a moan. She feels real, but small pain in her palm. She looks at it. There is a cut. It is small, shallow, and it is already healing. But it is there and she doesn't remember how she got it.

xxx

Victoria is annoyed to say the least. To be honest she feels like that for some time now and nothing is getting better. Since she arrived to this god forsaken part of the country, nothing is going as planned.

The good part is: Cullens are gone. No one to rip her to shreds while she mauls that Swan girl. Well, almost no one. The bad part is: THOSE. FILTHY. DAMN. MUTTS! Those mutts that killed Laurent. Those mutts that will kill her if she gets close enough too them. Some of them are always watching, guarding, staying near damn girl's house. In desperation, Victoria starts to think about creating a newborn army. She's been toying with the idea for some time now but she leaves that as a measure of last resort. She doesn't want to provoke any attention of the Volturi, unless she can't think of any other way to get Edward's human.

She waits, she observes and she hopes for a stroke of luck. Some unexpected event that will give her the chance. In the meantime she hunts. She's not trying to restrain herself. She kills a lot. Always close (but not to close) to wolf's territory. She is sending them a message.

That's exactly what she is doing right now. She is at Forks. Not too far, not too close too the Swan girl and the dogs. She is crouching in the dark alley, holding a corpse of a young boy, who's blood she's draining. This blood doesn't taste too bad, or too good. Ordinary in every aspect. But it's enough too slake her thirst.

She removes her teeth from the dried carcass. She removes the head. Now there is nothing that would suggest a vampire. And nobody will suspect, nobody will know. Except the mutts of course, they will know. They...

Tempting, delicious fragrance hits her nostrils. She knows that scent. She's been sniffing on it since she arrived here, but she never felt it so fully, so purely. She follows it carefully. She does not use her vampire speed. She is vigilant and suspicious. She is getting to close now, so she has to be ready to escape on the slightest hint of werewolf's stench. She finds the source of scent. Its a small, clotted stain of blood on the wall of one of the buildings. But the trail doesn't end here. It leads further on and not before long she finds the next stain and another.

What is this? This, quite evidently was the blood of Isabella Swan. Did the girl accidentally cut herself here, and figured out it would be a good idea to bleed on random buildings? Of course not. So that leaves only one answer. Trap. The Swan girl is bleeding on purpose, to lead her straight into packs waiting arms. Or jaws. Victoria is almost offended. Does this Mary Sue and her band of furballs really think she's that stupid? But... She can't smell the dogs. Only Swan's blood.

So she follows it to the end. The last blood stain is inside some abandoned, empty house. All she finds is a peace of paper with a telephone number. That's it. No words, no threats, no nothing. Just a phone number. Victoria takes it to her pocket and starts to wonder. She's thinking very carefully, but she just can't figure... The girl left her blood trail hours earlier, when streets were crowded (for Forks anyway) and she was in no danger of immediate attack. To much people, to close to the mutts. Swan must have known that when she left her message. But what reason could she have to contact Victoria? Does she want to try to persuade her to give up her goal? Beg for mercy? Trick her somehow? Anyway this could have been a breakthrough vampire has been waiting for. The ball is on her side of the field. Now she has to decide what do do with it.

xxx

**Reviews would be great!**


	2. Chapter 2

Days pass and Bella slowly returns to normal. That is if depression can be considered normality of course. But now at least she is starting to really believe that her memory gap was a one time event. Besides she has enough problems as it is. Jacob tells her, however reluctantly about Victoria's recent killings. Vampire is still here and she isn't going nowhere. Bella knows that she's the one to blame. If it wasn't for her, those people would still be alive. But naturally, some others would die. Somewhere else in another part of the world, but there would be deaths. Victoria is a human drinker and she leaves a trace of dead bodies wherever she goes.

Jacob is pissed off about this. He says things like:

"Bitch has a lot of nerve! She murders almost at our doorstep. She taunts us, she thinks she can win!"

Win. Like it was a game. And maybe for wolfs and Victoria it is. When Victoria drinks someone dry - she gets a score. When wolfs chase her from her prey - they get a score. When wolfs murder Victoria - they win a big prize. When Victoria murders Bella – she wins a big prize. The game of human blood. The blood of real human beings that live, think and feel. Bella doesn't like this game. But she prefers to think about the danger of Victoria than about _him_. About the fact that _he_ left and_ he's _not coming back.

So Bella does as she always does. The school, Charlie, spending time with Jacob... Nightmares. Nightmares are still a horror, but at least _she_ never appears in them again, and its getting easy to convince herself that dreams are just dreams, and one day gone from memory is something that can happen to us all after a couple of bad months. She lives in peaceful slumber of well known misery.

One phone call changes all that. Bella comes back from La Push, she starts doing her perfectly mundane and boring homework and in that moment her house phone rings. She runs downstairs and picks it up.

"Hallo?"

"Hallo, Swan"

"Who is this?"

"An old friend. You've only seen me once, but I have seen you many times. Although I admit, from a rather large distance."

Bella freezes. This soft, feminine soprano... Was that Victoria? How did she get this number? What did she want?

Bella imagined this conversation many times. Usually when she was alone in the house and it was dark outside. She imagined Victoria barging through the front door, taunting her, killing her on one of dozens most horrible ways that came to mind. She imagined redhead vampire attacking her on her way to school, jumping on the roof of her moving truck, punching a hole in the glass and tossing her like a rag doll on the sidewalk, crushing every bone in her body. At last she imagined classical, dark alley attack Jack the Ripper style. That's why she avoids dark alleys. Or empty streets. Or nearly empty coffee shops. She imagined hundreds of scenarios of her own death.

But Bella Swan never imagined that Victoria will simply call her.

"H... how did you get this number?" she stutters.

"Memory problems, Swan? You gave it to me yourself. Couple of days I tried to figure out what is it that, in your opinion is there to be said between us. Are you going to plea for your life? Or maybe you want to heroically sacrifice yourself to save your sleepy, bored little townsfolk? I'm open to propositions."

Bella's heart is racing a marathon. Her breath is shallow and unsteady. Thoughts are circling disjointed in her head. What is going on here?

"Victoria, I... I don't... I didn't..."

_Oh, lord! What would you do without me, duckling? _Voice from somewhere on the right cuts through her fearful mumble.

Bella slowly turns around with dread. Her reflection in the big, standing mirror gives her a look of feign compassion. Bella's lips are twitching. She's unable to say a word. Her reflection however doesn't need her too talk. It says one sentence instead.

_Let me handle this one._

Bella's world goes blank.

xxx

Victoria is in no hurry to call the Swan girl. Or that's what she's telling herself. She stalls, she hunts, she observes. What's stopping her is her pride. She doesn't want her victim to do all the job for her and martyrize herself, like she did last time with James. Victoria doesn't want to go the easy way. If she wanted that, she would have kidnapped Renee Swan a long time ago. Or even simpler task: kidnap some of the girls local friends. After observation this long, she knows which ones to pick. Bah, she bets she could even chose some complete stranger and Swan girl would still sacrifice herself all the same. After watching this human for so much time a vampire knew a thing or two about her character. And she wasn't too impressed.

Victoria knows how the girl handled Cullen's departure. She heard rumors about depression, catatonic state and suicidal tendencies. Vampire could even understand those. After all, human life is so fragile, painful, uneventful. Humans could damage their tender bodies so easily. AIDS, cancer, broken bones... And even if they managed to live to old age, they were still doomed. Doomed to slowly disintegrate. Doomed to decay, pain, loss of agility, and finally they ceased to exist. And before that they spent their years doing some monotone paperwork or something just as pitifully boring. Its no wonder some of them choose to take their deaths in their own hands.

But the Swan girl was like that because of the man who dumped her. Just some guy, which betrayed and forsaken her love. If he did that, he simply wasn't worth it. Any reasonable creature would move on. Or better yet: take revenge and move on. But the Swan girl is far from reasonable. She would lose all self certainty and take all the blame. Victoria almost feels pity. Almost. What she does feel is contempt. And some curiosity. After all, now the girl is showing some initiative. She contacted Victoria, not the other way around.

But the vampire still has her pride. She wants to outwit those filthy mutts, take the Swan girl and avenge James by herself, without taking a quick fix – using Swan's bleeding, soft heart to get her. And so she waits, and waits, until she can't resist her curiosity. She steals one of her victim's cellphone and dials her targets number. And than she realizes, that this will be the first time she'll ever talk to her. First time she saw the girl on that fucking field, where James smelled her blood, noticed her significance for the coven of strangers and started the way to his downfall. Then Victoria observed her from a far, listened to peoples discussions about her, thought of her... But she never talked to her.

Let's get to know her.

Victoria raises her cellphone and waits.

"Halo?" tired, lifeless voice.

"Hallo, Swan"

"Who is this?"

"An old friend. You've only seen me once, but I have seen you many times. Although I admit, from a rather large distance."

Even through the phone Victoria can hear hasten breaths. Quickening heart. When Swan speaks again her voice is shaky.

"H... how did you get this number?"

What is this? Is this girl playing games now? Or maybe, when she contacted her, she was having a flash of bravery, and now her cowardice caught up with her?

"Memory problems, Swan? You gave it to me yourself. Couple of days I tried to figure out what is it that, in your opinion is there to be said between us. Are you going to plea for your life? Or maybe you want to heroically sacrifice yourself to save your sleepy, bored little townsfolk? I'm open to propositions."

She's lying. Shell dismiss and mock any attempts of that. No easy way.

"Victoria, I... I don't... I didn't..." the girl is nearly crying right now and Victoria assures herself that she's been right about her victims nature, but then something happens. Swans heart returns to steady, healthy rhythm. Her breathing is calm. When she speaks her voice is confident with traces of humor.

"Good evening, Victoria. I'm so glad you finally called. As I understand you're planing to kill me."

"In the end"

Swan's heart doesn't change its bit. Steady as ever. And her voice gets an ironical sharpness.

"Yes, Laurent mentioned that what you prepared for me is unpleasant to say the least. And then my werewolf friends made a chew toy of him. They are the only reason you haven't come for me yet, right?"

Victoria is puzzled. Does this human want to gloat? Is that the whole reason she contacted her? She wants to go all 'you can't hurt me, I've got my dogs!" sort of thing? Well aren't we cocky! Okay, two players can play that game.

"They won't be there for you forever. Someday they'll lose their guard. That will be your last day."

"Possibly. But do you really find your method of vengeance to be an effective one? Cullens left Forks _and _me months ago. Do you really think they'll be so heartbroken when, and if they ever find out you wasted me?"

Hmm... The girl was making an excellent point.

She was unlucky, insignificant element of a plan to make Edward Cullen suffer. Edward Cullen, twisted asshole, who loved his human enough to kill another vampire for her, but not enough to turn her, as any normal vampire would do. After Victoria found out about Cullen family's absence, she was in conflict. If the Cullens left their Swan girl behind, did she really was a good instrument of vengeance? But then again, finding the Cullens themselves would be a long and difficult task. And after all: mate for a mate. Besides the golden eyed family seemed like a bunch of masochists, rejecting their vampire nature. There was always the possibility that in Edward's perverted mind, he was doing the girl a favor. Well favor that, you son of a bitch, when you find her corpse!

"I don't have a whole lot of better options here, Swan. If there are any feelings for you in Eddy boy's undead heart, he'll bury himself alive in guilt for leaving you to die."

Now Victoria expects pain or anger. Pain or anger that girl's ex lover will suffer after her untimely death. All she gets is gleeful laughter.

"I've got to tell ya, that the thought of him beating himself over it is almost worth dying for. Almost. But I don't belong to him. Or to anybody for that matter. I do not intent to die because of him. Besides, you said 'if' he still has feelings for me. And what if he doesn't? You would be wasting your time here."

Victoria is, however unwillingly, a little impressed with girls reasoning and hey... what the hell happened to this wimpy creature she's been watching all this time?

"Like I said, girl, I don't have better options. I'll take my chances with my plan. You'll be dying slowly when we meet face to face."

"Perhaps you should consider my proposition. It just might be this better option you are looking for."

"Fine, I'll humor you."

"You have this picture in your head. I die, Edward finds out, he grieves, he blames himself, he mopes and so on. But change this for another picture. Edward living a happy life with his family, not suspecting a thing..."

"And then I come after him instead? Wrong, sweetie. To go after Edward is to go after seven vampires. Seven of them, one of me. I don't like those odds."

"I wasn't finished. So... happy Edward, you come after him... but not alone. You take someone with you. Someone he will not suspect. Someone he trusts. Someone who will lure him away from his folks for a soppy reunion, to some isolated area where you and this someone can tear him apart. This someone is me. His ex, whom he knows as the most defenseless, harmless girl alive. His ex, who's betrayal will be like twisting a dagger in a wound. If you turn me into a vampire, you'll gain quite useful ally. Your pass to Edward – fucking – Cullen. Two of us, one of him. How do you like these odds?"

Victoria is speechless. And slowly, she's beginning to realize that maybe, just maybe she misjudged this human altogether. The possibilities are dancing before her eyes. Isabella Swan. Not as a target, as an accomplice. Willing helper, stabbing Eddy boy in the back with a smile. The very thought ignites Victoria's mind. But of course, this could always be a trick.

"How can I trust you to not run to him for your 'happily ever after' as soon as I turn you?"

Swans voice is filled with sadistic joy as she speaks.

"Only 'happily ever after' I'm interested in is the one on Edwards ashes."

Victoria isn't sure why she believes her that easily. But she does.

"Let's assume, for the sake of argument that I'll agree. We'll meet, I turn you... How do I know you're not just trying to catch me into an ambush? You know, your hairy friends waiting to eat me?

"We'll meet in public. You know my school? Of course you do. Meet me there tomorrow morning five minutes before eight o'clock. Kids will be gathering there, waiting for classes. Big crowd, no werewolves."

"You sneaky, little thing. You don't want to meet in public not to assure me of my safety. You know my hands will be tied there. You're afraid I'll just eat you, don't you? You don't trust me."

"Of course not. Do you trust me?"

"Good point. But how do you expect me to turn you in public?"

"I have a few ideas. See you there." and with these words Isabella Swan hangs up.

Victoria feels her respect for this girl growing. Clever thing, doesn't hold up all the cards. Vampire's smile is wide. Looks like she's got a rendez vous tomorrow. She wouldn't wanna miss it. But before that she leaves the parting gift for the mutts. She kills five humans that night. It's bloody, it's messy, and it's fun. And dropping their massacred corpses right under the very noses of werewolves is even more fun. One of them spots her from the distance. And he sees her gift. Then he growls and starts a chase. Victoria hears wolf's cronies started snarling and running too. She doesn't look back, she lets her instincts guide her. She races with them between the woods, jumps above streams, and finally she's out in the open, she reaches the city, where she sends her attackers a very friendly smile and deliberately slowly she mingles with the crowd.

xxx

Bella stands in the middle of her living room with a cell in her hand and a very confused face. She looks at the clock. Well, at least this time she didn't lose a whole day. Just a couple of minutes. And she has no idea what happened during this few minutes. O my god! Victoria! What could Victoria say during these minutes? Was this something horrible? Something cruel? Something important? And she has no idea what this could have been. She must call Jacob... And tell him what exactly? That she just had a conversation with her worst enemy and doesn't remember a thing? He'll think she's crazy and he'll be right. But... She cant, she won't keep this a secret. Somebody's life, her life, Jake's life might be at stake!

Bella dials Jacob Black's number. She feels better already, as she waits to hear his voice. His voice that could always send her worries far away. And as she hears him she lightens up a bit. But only for a moment.

"Hi, you reached Jacob Black. Leave a message."

"Jake, its Bella. Listen, hmm... I just got a call from... from Victoria and I..." she stops. I what? I simply forgot what she said? And, Jake? Before I forget something more I've got to tell you that before I lost it I talked to my own reflexion in the mirror. Great story, is it not? I'm sorry I'm only talking about myself, how rude of me, how was your day?

"Look Jake if you're there... please pick up." But Jacob quite obviously isn't there."Jake... just call me back when you can, okay? Bye." She hangs up. From the day _he _left, Bella doesn't remember ever feeling so lost.

xxx

… _Bella Swan is lying on a small dirty bed in a motel room. She reaches for something inside her backpack. Its a large syringe, filled with colorless liquid. She picks up her sleeve, aims for a large, blue vein on her arm and administers the substance into her bloodstream. Then the screaming starts..._

… _Bella stands on the hill, her lips smiling coldly, her eyes crimson red. Behind her, some unfocused shape comes out of the shadows._

"_Took you long enough" says the shape in sweet, gentle soprano. Her face is clearer now. Its pale, surrounded by curly, red hair._

"_Let's not waste any more time then." Bella wants to say something more, but then everything gets blurry, sounds are muffled. Vision ends..._

In another part of the country, several states away from Forks Alice Cullen takes a deep breath her body doesn't need.

"Bella." she whispers, and then she throws a fast glance at other members of her family. All but one.

"Somebody please call Edward. We have no time to lose!"

xxx

**Reviews are LOVE!**


	3. Chapter 3

Edward Cullen believes he did the right thing when he left Bella. But that doesn't mean he's happy about it.

He can't think about anything accept her perfect face, her loving eyes, her soft voice... So he's tracking. He's tracking Victoria. He's tracking her because she helped that abominable James. He's tracking her because she was James's mate and James tried to kill Edward's almost mate. He's tracking her, because she could be a threat to him, to his family and most of all to Bella. But for real – he's tracking her to forget. To for at least a while forget about a huge hole, that was punched through his undead chest when he left. To don't think about Bella's face when he told her he's leaving. To don't remember her cries, echoing behind him as he was abandoning her. To don't think about an unbearable fact that he will never, ever see her again. To don't fantasize about what could have been, but will never be. About Bella staying with him forever as she asked him to. About Bella as a vampire. About Bella... if he condemned her soul as she so recklessly wanted him to.

But each time he shakes off those fantasies because he knows better. He knows what's best for his Bella. He knows that however painful living without her is, it's a price he's willing to pay to assure his loves humanity. He only left her for her own good, he knows that. But that doesn't make him feel any better.

Alice's phone call however does. He listens with dread about a vision of Bella injecting herself with a venom. He listens about her encounter with Victoria and he feels a new life pouring into his body. He's almost insanely happy because now he has a reason to return. He will return to Forks, defeat Victoria once and for all and stop Bella from turning. He'll see her again, he'll save her again and then... Then he will make the biggest sacrifice in his existence _again_ and leave Bella to her normal, natural human life. But before that happens he'll get to lay his eyes on her wonderful face again!

He leaves for Forks without delay.

xxx

When Victoria meets the Swan girl, she's quite confused about her. At first the girl looks at her with fright and surprise, almost animalistic panic as if she didn't remember that it was her who organized the meeting. But then her expression changes in an instant. She becomes calm, businesslike, almost friendly.

They meet in a public place, before the school building as it was agreed. Victoria welcomes a couple of girl's friends, introducing herself as her aunt. When Swan arrives they continue the mindless chatter for a while and then they walk away from the crowd (but not too far) and the girl gives the vampire a small vial. She wants the venom so she could inject herself.

Victoria is a little put off by the fact that she won't get to taste the girls delicious blood. And more than a little impressed with her ingenuity. The girl will not let herself be bitten. She doesn't trust Victoria's sincerity enough to assume it's not a ruse to kill her. Or she simply doesn't believe in vampire's control over her thirst. Swan doesn't leave anything to chance. That would make it difficult to make her a pawn. But it will make her a valuable partner.

"You know..." Victoria says, as she passes a full vial to the girl "You're in a better situation than me. You know now, that I'm being honest with you. That I'm willing to give our cooperation a shot. I only have your word, so far."

"You'll have more soon enough, when I'm turned and ready. Soon we will have Edward Cullen's head on a platter. I promise."

"You never told me how are you planning to find him."

The girl smiles smugly.

"I believe in your tracking skills. Besides, if I'm right, we won't have to look for the Cullens at all. They'll find us themselves."

That's when the bell rings. The girl turns around to walk away, but Victoria stops her with a few quiet words.

"Do not screw me over... Bella."

"I won't. And you can call me Isa."

xxx

Bella is standing in the hall. The students are running for classes. She still hears ringing of a bell. But as she recalls, just a second ago she was standing in front of the entrance, looking at her arch nemesis Victoria, just standing there, smiling at her! And as Bella's body was considering the fight or flight dilemma... She just skipped god knows how many minutes! God! What is happening to her?

"Mike! Hey, Mike!"

Mike Newton stops and gives her an irritated look.

"Bella, the classes!"

"I know, man. And I know it's a strange question, but could you tell me what just happened?"

"What you mean what happened? The school started. And we're gonna be late if... "

"Mike, please! Just tell me what was I doing just now."

"Well... you were talking to your aunt, which came here to visit you and..."

"Aunt? What 'aunt'?"

"You know... curly, red hair, beautiful... ring any bells?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Bella, are you okay? You're acting kinda weird. Hey, where are you going?"

Bella runs into the bathroom and closes the door behind her. She looks into the mirror above the sink.

"What is going on? What's wrong with me?" she whispers. "Am I going crazy?"

She shuts her eyes tight and counts to five. If only _he_ was here with her... Hot tears are pouring down her face.

_Just look at you. As mopey as ever. Poor thing._

Bella opens her eyes. What she sees sends shivers down her spine.

Her own reflexion is watching her from the mirror with feign concern.

"This isn't happening!" I'm delusional, I'm..."

_You need to pull your head out of your ass and face the facts. And here they are – I'm here and I'm here to stay._

"You're not real! I'm hallucinating."

_Oh, trust me – I'm as real as you are. And now I'm your best option of ever becoming a vampire._

"What are you talking about? Edward left and..."

_Edward? He's not the only vampire in the world and some of his kind are way more reasonable when it comes to multiplying. _

"Victoria!" Bella blanches.

_Bingo._

Bella knows she has to ask. But she isn't certain if she want's to know the answer. She stares fearfully at this... person in the mirror. This copy of herself.

"My blackouts. It was you! What did you do?"

So all this time... All her lost memories... It was something from within her, stealing her body.

_What did __**we **__do, duckling._

The cellphone in Bella's pocket rings. She reaches for it and sees Jacobs number on the screen.

_I wouldn't answer that if I were you._ States the reflexion calmly.

"Why not? It's Jacob."

_Yes it's Jacob. I'd say he's finally got your stupid message about you talking to Victoria. He's calling you right now, all worried and eager to hear more._

"Good. I'll tell him..." Bella stops. What is she exactly going to tell Jacob? About meeting Victoria and not remembering a thing of it? About talking to herself? Or about...

_Do you really wanna tell him what we did?_

'And what exactly did we do?" Bella repeats.

_We made a deal with Victoria. She gave us her venom. It's in the backpack, along with a syringe I prepared._

"And in return?"

Her reflexion smirks coldly.

_All in good time. For now you have to make a choice._

Bella's phone keeps ringing.

_Here's what you gonna do: you're gonna leave the school now, drive to Seattle and check into your room at "Starlight motel". I reserved a place for you there. Then you're gonna lock yourself inside, give yourself an injection and start your new life as a vampire._

Bella's heart is racing. She's got a chance... A real, actual chance to achieve what she spent so much time dreaming about. But... being turned by Victoria? Behind Jacob's back? And what about Charley? No! She won't do it! There are more important things in this world than her own, personal desires. She has to think about Jacob and her father. But then again... If she was a vampire, _he _might want her back. _He _couldn't say she's no part of his world and... No! She can't do this like that. But if Jacob understood...

"I'm not listening to you! I'm going to tell Jacob everything! And then I'm going to inject myself. After Jacob knows and accepts my choice!"

Her reflexion can't hold her laughter.

_Knows and accepts? What world are you living in? And what truth exactly are you gonna tell him? That you made a deal with your __**and **__their worst enemy? You know what you're gonna be for him and the rest of the pack? A TRAITOR! He'll take the venom away from you and he'll make you stay human __for the sake of the treaty. And of course... _the girl in the mirror frowns _'for your own good'. If you tell Jacob you can kiss your one chance of becoming a vampire goodbye._

Bella desperately wants to contradict these words. She wants to say that Jacob would never... That he would respect her choice... But deep down she knows better.

She unzips her backpack she doesn't remember packing. There are no schoolbooks inside. There's only a roll of money, an empty syringe, a key with a number and... And a precious vial, filled with venom. Her pass to immortality. Her pass to... _him_.

"And what about Charley and Renee?"

The reflexion looks at her thoughtfully.

_You gave yourself to James to mutilate, for Renee. You acted normally after Edward abandoned you, tho nothing is normal, for Charley. You deny yourself your greatest dream right now, for the both of them and Jacob. Aren't you tired of always placing other peoples desires above your own? Don't you want to, at least once do what's best for __**you**__?_

She glances at her ringing cell. And at her reflexion in the mirror. The person in there looks at her confidently. They both already know what's going to happen.

In one fast movement Bella turns her phone off. The mirror grins triumphantly.

_Atta girl._

xxx

'Starlight motel' is a place almost extraordinary in its mediocrity. A small, unremarkable motel as hundreds of others in the city. Bella wastes no time as she slides the key into a lock at a door to her room and gives 'don't disturb' sign.

She takes the vial, she fuels a syringe, places it right above a vain and then...

_Don't do this, Bella!_

That's _his_ voice again. As non corporeal as always. Sending new daggers of pain to her chest and yet blissful, because this hallucination, this illusion is her only reminder that _he_ is there somewhere.

_Bella, please! For me!_

For me. Those were once magical words. The sequence that opens every passage. Because not so long ago, there was nothing she wouldn't do for him.

_But then he left you._ Says a cold, sober voice. Voice that is her own. And isn't.

_For me..._

"No, Edward." Bella pierces her skin with a needle. "For me."


	4. Chapter 4

When Cullens arrive, Victoria finds out pretty fast. So she follows them from a far (really far, she hasn't forgotten about Edward's telepathy) and she spies them. God knows she has a lot of experience in this by now. She manages to stay unnoticed. And she sees them all. They're looking for her. Their girl. They're really on edge when they find nothing. Petite, pixie-like precog, her scarred mate, the blond beauty, the gorilla, the maternal type, doctor dearest... And Eddy boy himself. His face looks even gloomier than usual. Fury and despair are emanating from him and Victoria is now certain, absolutely certain that him breaking up with Isabella Swan was just the act. Stupid, masochistic act of self-loathing vampire, who just doesn't know what's good for him. But well... That attitude will be the death of him very soon, when Victoria's new partner joins the game.

"Come on, Alice!" he cries "You must see something!"

"You're seeing what I am seeing, Edward. Besides it's too late. She's already turning. And you should be happy about it if you want my opinion."

"I don't. And you have to try to localize that motel!"

"I _am_ trying. I do nothing but try since I first had a vision. And I can't see much of what will happen later. I see her as a vampire, returning to Forks, I see Victoria, sneaking up on her and then... nothing. It never happened before."

"Perhaps that's because you weren't here with us when we moved here first time." That's the doc. "We must figure this out. Try to look at different places."

"Port Angeles, checked. Seattle, checked."

"Try Quilette reservation."

"I can't see much."

Moment of silence.

"You think it's werewolves, don't you?"

"That theory makes sense. We knoe Bella has been... associating with one of them and big parts of her future were blank for me."

"Alice, you promised!" That's Eddy, seething. "You promised not to look at her future."

"I tried, Edward, I really did. But sometimes I just couldn't turn it off. That's what happens when you develop friendships."

Victoria hardly believes her own luck. After accepting Isabella Swan's offer she knew what their biggest problem will be. The seer. The one who can predict their plans and moves and by that she becomes a serious difficulty. But not any more. Because now Victoria knows Alice's weakness. And she will not let that discovery go to waste.

Three days pass...

xxx

Her flesh is burning for hours. Or days. Or maybe minutes. Pain takes away her sense of time.

Her bones are melting, her heart is pumping waves after waves of magma, her veins are the rivers of heat. Her innards feel like they were about to explode.

So she tries to escape, to find a hiding place inside of her. She reaches to her mind and her mind reaches back to her. She clinches to memories of _him._ Of their time together. _Him _and her at their meadow. Their lively, flowery meadow. She can picture it so clearly. _His _perfect skin, angelic features, loving words...

_Lies, all of them lies!_

_His_ image disappears and now _she _is here in _his_ place. The meadow changes. Now it is dry. Lifeless. As it was that day with Laurent.

_Isa..._

_The very same. Now listen to me. Soon the transformation will be complete and when that happens I want you to surrender the control of our body to me._

_What? You didn't seem to need my consent before._

_That was really bothersome. I had to literally rip the control away from you and it wasn't permanent. You subconsciously fought back. One time you had it, the next minute I had it and so on. And now the critical phase of my plan is coming and I need it all._

Bella sees the girl ahead of her. She sees her sparkling eyes, her resolve and strength. And she feels threatened on the level that nobody has ever endangered her before.

_No. _she answers and she tries to sound confident. _It's __**my**__ body. I am sick and you are a sickness._

Isa laughs carelessly.

_Oh, please. I'm not a sickness. I'm your unused potential, your weapon, your only ally. I'm the only person that is unconditionally and fully on your side._

_No! It's my life. My body. I have others! I have... I have..._

_Have who? Your parents? You hide everything from them. You can't even tell them what species your boyfriend belongs to. You soon will not be able to show your face to them! Your best friend – the natural enemy of vampires? When your change is complete he won't be able to stand the sight of you. The smell of you! Every part of him will be itching to kill you._

The shapes of the pack are emerging from the woods. Their eyes are no longer friendly. Their postures are crouched, preparing to jump, to attack...

_No! It wouldn't be like that. Jacob is my best friend. He would never... _

_Wouldn't he, sweetheart? Even after you got turned by a mass-murderer? The creature that's been killing locals and mocking werewolves for months? A bloodthirsty... How would he call it? 'Leech'? That, Bella, is exactly what she is and you will be for him._

_I took that risk when I decided to become a vampire. As long as I can search for... Edward..._

_Search for him and what? What will you do if you find him?_

What will she do? She's been imagining that scene over and over again. Imagining and hoping. Because when she's a vampire, the horrible words _you don't belong in my word _will no longer apply. And perhaps even more horrible words _I don't want you_ will be changed as well. Maybe she can find, when she'll have an eternity to look. Maybe then she'll show herself to him, remind him of what once was between them and... And maybe, no **surely** he'll love her again some day.

_I'll do my best for us to get back together. _She says hopefully _Maybe when I'm just like him he won't have a reason to reject me. Maybe the feelings he had for me in the beginning will return and..._

_And what? You'll beg him to take you back? And if he will want you back you'll forgive him just like that?_

_But I..._

The surroundings are changing again. The meadow is now a forest. This forest where...

_Nooooo! Don't show me that again. _Bella feels a moisture behind her eyelids. _This hurts to much!_

_Yes. _Isa confirms, her eyes are steely. _Yes it hurts. It hurt when he left you._

The images are changing again. Now Bella sees herself sleeping. And screaming in her sleep. Screaming and crying in desperate attempts to change, to stop... But as always she can't change anything. She can't reverse the course of time. She can't...

_I can't stand it!_

_Yes. You can't! And that's why I'm here. To show you that what you really want is not Edward generously coming back to your life._

Images are flowing mercilessly. Bella muttering _his _name with misery on her face. Bella driving a motorbike to hear his sweet baritone for a split second.

_You were ready to risk yourself, to hurt yourself only to hear his voice._

Bella grabbing her chest in a futile attempt to stop the pain.

_You were suffering both mentally and physically and he knew damn well that this is how it's gonna be._

The images of before. Of the happier times. _Him_ holding her close. _Him_, taking her in _his _arms. _He_, telling her how _he _loves her, confessing _his_ greatest secrets to her. _He _promising to never abandon her...

_And he did. He did abandon you._

Bella feels the entire forest closing in on her. She sees his honey-colored irises, his flawless face... And she hears again and again the words she's unable to live with.

… _You don't belong... We're leaving Forks... my family and myself... the last time you'll ever see me... as if I never existed... never existed... I don't want you to come... don't want you... don't want you... Don't want you... I. DONT. WANT. YOU!_

Bella sobs, cries and screams. And after a while _his_ image is again replaced by her own, yet not her own.

_He declared his eternal love and what happened? He left you at Victoria's mercy. He left you to miss him, to slowly die on the inside. He left you, when you were ready to give up everything else for him. He left you after everything that was between the two of you. HE. ABBANDONED. YOU! _

The images and pictures are running in a wild twister. Bella screaming at night. Bella crying _his_ name as _he_ leaves. Bella searching the forest for _him_ when _he_ left. Bella standing in the meadow, _his _meadow, their meadow. Now tainted meadow as Bella awaits her death at Laurent's hands.

_And now you want to find him and __**beg **__him to take you back? As you begged Laurent for your life in the meadow? You want to stand before him giving your heart to him once more? You want to wait for his decision and be defenseless? As defenseless as you were before, with James?_

Now she is in what once was her worst nightmare. The ballet studio. The cruel, hungry eyes of the hunter. The horrible anticipation. The pain as he threw her against the wall. The fear. The feeling of... helplessness. The feeling of her own weakness.

_When James wanted to kill you all you could do was wait for death. When Laurent wanted to finish the job all you could do was beg. When Edward was leaving you..._

_Stop! Please stop..._

_Did they ever stop? _Isa's gaze is hard. Unforgiving. _Did they ever show you this mercy you were begging for? Did they? Did Edward come back when you called after him?_

_No. _

_Exactly. You are an eternal damsel in distress. The one that always needs saving. The one that can't protect herself. The one who can never get what she wants by herself. The one that always let's others to take everything she has and cares about away from her. And now when you're finally turning into this super-fast, super-strong creature you always yearned to be, all you want is to continue to grovel? Or maybe you want revenge?_

_I love Edward. I..._

_Yes, but you also hate him. He damaged you and he damaged what was between you two. You are angry at him for leaving you and you hate him. When you look into your heart, you know I'm right. You don't want to be superman's girlfriend any more. You want to be a superwoman yourself. And you don't want Edward to graciously take you back. You want him to suffer. You want him to PAY!_

Bella wants to argue. She really does. But the next images that are shown to her are not of the past. They're the pictures of possible future. Of dreams and desires hidden inside of her so deeply... Of Edward in fear. In pain. Of Edward whimpering his apologies, mixed with screams of anguish, cries of agony. Of Edward _begging! _

_That is what you want is it not? To make him defenseless. To cause him pain. To cause him the pain that he caused you. To make him scream. To make him __**beg**__._

She'll never say that. She'll never admit that. She'll hide every such thought as deep within her mind as she can. She must do it, contradict every thought about that. She must...

_No! No, I would never do that._

_You're not so sure any more, are you? You try and you try, but love is not what you want most any more. What you want now is revenge. You can't fool me and you can't fool yourself. Give into your desires, Bella. You will never fear again. You will be the feared one. You will be the one that will make others defenseless. Make __**him **__defenseless. You will never be the damsel. You will be a heroine._

_A villain._

Isa smirks with amusement.

_Was he not the villain when he left you? When he removed himself from your world when you needed him so badly? When he broke your heart?_

Bella feels like she needs to fight, to contradict, to argue. But as she looks into those strong eyes that are and aren't hers she just isn't sure if she still wants to.

_Give into me, Bella. Give into me and you will never have to give up to anybody else again._

_I love... I would never hurt..._

_You hate and you __**will **__hurt. Give in, Bella. And we will hurt him. We will be free. You will never beg. You will never be a victim again. Jameses, Laurents and Edwards of this world will be at your mercy and not the other way around. Edward will suffer as you suffered. Just give in._

_I don't... don't want to! _

Bella's resistance is fading. She still sees Edward's face. And her anger catches up with her. All the fury she was in last months trying to suppress is now boiling inside and outside. But she has to love him. She has to forgive him. She must remember that none of this is his fault. And she can't allow herself to do him harm. She can still hold her anger back. She doesn't want revenge.

Does she?

_Yes you do. And you know I can give it to you. I've brought you this far. I made you a vampire. And I'll give you Edward Cullen. You'll be the hunter, the tracker, the danger. _

_I don't... I..._

Isa's smile is almost motherly.

_Hush. There is no point in fighting against the things you want. You've already decided. You just need to accept your decision. Just sit back and relax while I give you what you desire. Just GIVE IN._

She does.

xxx

In a small, dirty room in a small, average motel, a heart slows it's rhythm. The heart beats rarer and rarer until it reaches it's one, desperate, final thump. And then it stops.

Isabella Swan opens her new, crimson eyes. Only... she isn't Bella any more.


	5. Chapter 5

First thing Isa does after she wakes up is finding a meal. As her breakfast, she chooses some wino, that picked a wrong time to come out of the bar. After a short session of charming smiles and veiled suggestions he's giggling like a teenager, sending shameless looks at her breasts and, naturally he has no objections when she offers to go to an alley with him to 'know each other a little better'. As they are out of sight, she grabs him tight and sinks her teeth deeply into his neck. He tries to scream, but her hand on his mouth muffles the sound. His blood is hot, delicious and she feels her hunger go away. When she's done she doesn't feel the burning in her throat any more. But she's now fond of the taste of blood and she wants more.

When she leaves the city, she finds a biker on the forest road. With her full vampire speed, she crushes into him, yanks him off the motocycle and throws him on the ground.

"What the... What the fu..!"

After a few seconds of shock, he composes himself somehow. He escapes without looking back. In a second she's in front of him.

"As if you could outrun me."

He takes a swing and hits her on the stomach. Next moment he's holding his injured fist.

"As if you could fight me off!"

He doesn't even have time to scream when she twists his neck, so she could enjoy her drink without struggle. When she's done, she heads straight to Forks. After pleasure, it's time for business.

xxx

Victoria finds Isabella Swan in the woods, as they previously agreed. She sees the change in everything. Girls white skin, graceful movements, red irises.

"Took you long enough." she greets her.

"Let's not waste any more time then." Isa responds. She's about to say something more but then she frowns and inhales deeply. Their eyes meet and they utter the same word.

"Werewolves."

"Let's get out of here." Isa suggests.

"No, wait. Maybe we can use that to our advantage. The Cullens are back in town, you know."

The corners of Isa's lips are lifting.

"That can be easier then I anticipated. I assume this isn't a coincidence. They came back for me, haven't they? Alice..."

"Yes, Alice. I've been observing them since they arrived and I can tell you I might have overheard something useful."

"I'm all ears."

"Apparently our little pixie can't see the future of mutts. Or those in their close proximity."

Isa's smile widens. And as they discuss the following part of their plan, Victoria learns one more thing about her accomplice. She's full of ideas. And she has absolutely no scruples.

xxx

Jared is annoyed to say the least. Not only the redhead is still on the lose and Bella Swan disappeared, but now he and all the pack have to endure Jacob's mental whining. His worries, his theories, his broken heart 24/7.

So Jared tries to keep as far from Jacob as he can. He volunteers to patrol all the parts of the forest that lay at an opposite direction to the ones that Jacob has. He tries to concentrate on his surroundings, on the sounds of life around him, on the smell of... vampire? Vampire!

And there she stands. Not too close, but close enough for him to see her. Her red curls, her mocking eyes, her vicious grin.

"Hey, doggie."

He goes from nervous to overjoyed. This is the end. The redhead just made her biggest and last mistake. She got cocky. And he has no intention of waiting for the rest of the pack. Fortune just smiled to him and he will not waste it. He imagines the admiration he'll receive, when he will single-handedly put to the ground the bitch that's been bothering them for so long. But no longer.

With a feral snarl he runs after her. He reaches his full speed, infuriated by her laughter. He gets closer and closer every second. He stretches his paws and almost manages to grab her arm, but the agile creature slips away with ease.

"Tired, doggie? Maybe you should go back to mommy?"

He roars and picks up the pace even more. Bitch may be a wise-ass if she likes, but he'll get her anyway. He jumps at her and they merge in deadly embrace. Her pale arms are on his chest, her neck just below his jaws. His victory is near. He expects to see fear on her face. But there is only triumph.

"Behind you." she whispers playfully.

Jared is almost offended. Does the bitch really think he would fall for... He feels as if a building fell down on his head.

Darkness.

xxx

Victoria glares at an unconscious werewolf at her feet. When he was knocked out he phased and what lies here now looks a lot less intimidating. They transported him to an abandoned, old house in secluded area, wasting no time. Isa insisted on a blindfold. She's been telling about pack's mental connection and it was critical that the pack wasn't suppose to know about her involvement. Not yet anyway.

"That was easy enough. Dumb mutt."

"Not over yet. They regenerate quickly. We have to make sure he'll stay under our control."

"What do you propose?"

"Hold him down."

As Victoria complies, Isa steps on each of prisoner's limbs. Four loud cracks fill the air, followed by a high-pitched scream. Victoria doesn't wait for him to fully regain his senses. She knocks him out again.

With that out of the way, safe from Alice's eyes, two vampires discuss every detail, every part of their plan. When that's done, Isa stands still and braces herself.

"Remember, Victoria, we don't know how much of our interactions Alice foresaw, so make it believable. Don't hold yourself back."

Victoria doesn't. She bites deeply, leaving some venomous scars. Scars that could almost rival those of Jasper. She rips her clothes for dramatic effect. She leaves her hair ruffled.

"That should do it."

"Well then." Isa smirks. "You prepare some suitable room for our soon to be guest of honor. I'll go have a little heart to heart with my would be family."

"Wait. I've been a little curious."

"What?"

"The first time we spoke. At first you acted as if you didn't expect it. Like you didn't know why I'm calling."

That is a riddle that's been bugging Victoria for some time now. First time when they spoke and then before a school building, Isabella Swan appeared to have an immediate switch from soft and jumpy to tough and confident. Well... Victoria has heard of mood swings but that looked like something more. Unfortunately for her, her accomplice just shows her the Cheshire cat smile.

"Let's just say that I have a very complex and rich inner life."

"It seems like right now I won't get anything more out of you, am I? No? Then at least tell me what's with the name. When I've been playing a peeping tom, I always heard people calling you 'Bella'. What changed?"

"I changed."

As she walks away in a blur, Victoria smiles lightly, but she can't help but wonder. Was that the story? Isabella Swan freezes her bleeding heart, decides to take her life in her own hands and to seal the metamorphosis, she changes the name? Most likely, but something about this just doesn't explain everything. If a month ago somebody told her she'll be cooperating with Isabella Swan, _this_ Isabella Swan, the cause of James's death, the lover of Edward Cullen she'd laugh in their faces. And now she'll find out if this alliance pays off.

xxx

_What you did to those two people and Jared was horrible! _worried voice from within Isa's mind breaks the silence.

"Hey, you want to start moping now, Bella? As for the humans – maybe you want to be an underfed, wimpy veggie vampire, but I'm not surviving an eternity on a second best food. As for Jared..."

_This is such a betrayal! The pack has been protecting us for months. If it wasn't for them, Laurent would have drained me dry and this is how you repay them?_

"Without a werewolf we would be on Alice's radar. If Alice sees our plans, she can interrupt. She could stop us! You wouldn't want that, would you?"

_No! No, I wouldn't, but..._

"No buts, duckling. If we're suppose to succeed we can't allow ourselves to doubt."

He's coming. Her beloved, Edward. As she sees his most hated, treacherous face on a horizon, she switches on human speed. She gives her face an expression of hurt, misery and desperate hope. The curtain goes up, lights go down, the crowd holds their breaths. Feast your eyes on Isa Swan, for the last time in a role that no male, human or vampire can resist. The damsel in distress.

xxx

Cullens do everything they can think of. They search through every motel in a close proximity to Forks. They, however reluctantly, begin to talk to werewolf pack. They exchange information about Bella, every fact, every theory. They're terrified when they listen about everything that's happened since their departure. They try and they try. But that's all not enough. And the dogs have their own problem. One of them went missing too. And there is no sign of Bella. The tension is unbearable.

All Edward can do is wait. Wait until something new happens. Wait until Alice sees something useful. And slowly lose his mind, remembering what her previous vision has showed. Bella, who doesn't get bitten, but INJECTS herself with a venom on her own free will. And then Victoria, closing in on her. What does all of this mean? But, again, all he can do is wait. And listen. Listen to panicked, desperate thoughts of Charlie Swan. And those of his own family. Most of them are trying really hard to don't think anything that could hurt him, but nobody can fight his own thoughts forever.

They blame him. All of them. They all agree that if he changed Bella when she asked him to, none of this would have happened. No dangerous friendship with the werewolf, no encounter with Laurent, no depression, no Victoria's vendetta, no disappearance. When all these months ago he decided that they should remove themselves from Bella's life, they accepted his decision.

But they didn't approve. All of them (except Rosalie) tried to persuade him to change his mind. Alice most of all. She fought tooth and nail against him. And in the end, after many arguments, she said something that stuck in his memory.

"Edward" her voice was tired. She was fighting a battle that was already lost and she knew it. But she decided to hold her ground to the end. "You are blinded by fanaticism. Your beliefs and your self righteousness are hurting you and those you care about. You made me promise that I won't look at Bella's future and I won't. But I don't even need my ability to know this will end badly. It already is bad. And all of this could have been avoided if you would just... let her love you."

The aching in his chest increases when he thinks about all the suffering he caused Bella. Maybe they are right? Maybe he should have let her decide for herself? Maybe... No! It's an unforgivable sin to even think like this! He chose what was best for Bella's soul. He chose to let her have what was stolen from him. What he should have done, was not to engage with her in the first place. They should have moved as soon as he started to develop any feelings for her. Yes, that's right. That way she would have never loved him and would be living a perfectly happy, normal, human life. And then she would go to heaven! But no, he had to allow himself for this selfish, destructive passion and now the love of his life is a vampire. And God only knows what she's going through.

"She's coming! Bella!" Alice screams with joy and the pictures are flowing through Edward's mind.

_Her chocolaty hair are in ruin, her clothes are torn to shreds. Her white skin is marked with bite marks and there is so many of them! Her scarlet eyes are looking at him with hope, pain and devotion._

"_Edward!" she cries "Edward..."_

He doesn't wait to see more. He sprints out of the house, runs through the woods and...

There she is. His Bella. The most beautiful sight he ever saw. Although he'll never admit that, her transformation had brought out all the potential of her angelic face. His love, his goddess. And to think that once he thought that she could be a demon, sent from hell to torment him!

He sees her wounds, her misery, the pain in her eyes and he knows that of the two of them the only tormentor was him.

"Edward!" she cries "Edward..."

"Bella!"

In a second he holds her in his arms. He cuddles this wonderful body, not so delicate any more, and he listens to her tearless sobs. He's not surprised when he notices he can't hold his own cries. The hole in his chest disappears like it was never there. He's happy, so amazingly, unconsciously happy... And he knows he shouldn't, he can not allow himself to be happy, because his happiness have cost Bella her place in heaven.

"Your wounds. Who?"

"Victoria."

"I'll get her for this! I promise you, Bella, she'll die for what she did to you!"

"Edward..."

"I missed you so much, love, so much! I didn't even know I could be in such pain."

"But you left. You didn't love me any more."

This words, even as an echo of his own words, sound like the worst heresy to his ears. Gently, he cups her face in his hands and looks deeply into her eyes.

"Every word I said to you that day was a lie. A hideous lie, but I had your best interest at heart."

"Does that mean..."

"Isabella Marie Swan, I love you, always have loved you and always will love you."

She pulls him closer and crashes his lips with her mouth.

"Oh, Edward." She moans. "I didn't dare to dream about this moment."

xxx

"When Edward... When all of you left..." Bella's voice breaks and Edward gives her a reassuring handshake. The rest of Cullen clan awaits in silence for the rest of the story.

"Well I... I couldn't live with that. For months I tried to forget... I made friends with Jacob, the we..."

"Werewolf." Edward interrupts angrily. "Really, Bella, couldn't you make some human friends for a change?"

"Jake is a great guy. He was there for me, when..." her unspoken sentence is hanging in the air. Everybody knows what she was going to say. "When I needed him." she finishes.

"Bella, dear." Esme breaks an awkward silence. "We have spoken to them. We already know this part. I think what everyone would like to hear is how you became a vampire. And..." she throws a glance at her thorn clothes and collection of bite marks.

Bella takes a deep breath. When she speaks, her voice is heavy with emotion.

"Well... Some time ago I decided that I had enough. I needed Edward and all of you back. I thought that if I'm a vampire Edward might take me back. I was ready to search all over the world. So I made contact with Victoria and..."

"You did what?" Edward almost jumps at his seat. "Let me get this straight. She was killing people all around, threatening to murder you and you... you –!"

"I contacted her and I tricked her into believing that we both have the same goal, that if she changes me, I'll help her get you."

"Wow, you've got some guts, Bella!" Emmett' chuckles with admiration. Edward shots him a dirty look so he lowers his eyes. The rest of the family maintains a tactful silence.

"Bella, do you realize how dangerous that was? You could have get yourself killed!"

Bella laughs mirthlessly.

"I? Could get killed? It must be monday!"

"This is serious!"

"Edward." Alice interrupts "I'm sure you'd love to yell at her some more, but the rest of us would prefer to know the rest."

"She's right, son." Carlisle agrees "Just let her continue."

"Thank you both. So... Where was I?"

"You tricked Victoria." Jasper reminds. "And I have to admit that if you managed to fool her like that, you are skilled in deception. I would never guess."

"Oh, right. Thanks. I met her in public, she gave me her venom, I rented a motel room, I injected myself..." She shudders. "And after the transformation was complete I returned to Forks as quickly as possible, while trying to stay as far away from humans as I could. When I got back, Victoria was already waiting for me. She told me that you returned. I was so happy... I got careless. Victoria figured out I double crossed her. She attacked me..." Edward places his arm around her shoulders.

"Go on, Bella." Esme smiles tenderly. "You're one of us and you're safe now."

"We fought and when I thought I was done... One of the wolfs, I think it was Jared, came out of nowhere and jumped at her."

"That explains it!" Alice gets excited. "That explains why I couldn't see any of this!" and seeing Bella's puzzled look she adds "I can't see the future of werewolves."

"He saved me! He saved me, but I didn't stay to help him. I was so scared, so I just ran. Like a coward." Bella starts sobbing again. Edward cuddles her closely. "Please, please tell me Jared is okay!"

"Bella" Carlisle chooses to be the messenger of bad news. "Jared disappeared not so long ago. His pack-mates can't find him since."

"Oh, no! She killed him, didn't she? And it's all my -!"

"No." Alice interrupts "He's still alive"

"How can you tell?"

"Because I can't see Victoria's future. She has him."

"But..." Bella's face is a picture of complete and utter confusion. "But what does she need him for?"

"That, I'm afraid is a question we don't have an answer for in the moment." Esme states calmly. "And since Bella's been through a lot, I say we should give her some clean clothes, she should take a shower and then some of us must take her hunting. Because emotions or not, honey, you are still a newborn and you must be starving."

xxx

When she submerges into a tub full of hot water, Isa Swan has a wide smile on her face.

"Oh, don't look so sad, Bella." she says as she looks at her reflexion in the mirror, which glares at her accusingly. "Everything is working out just fine."

And so it is. All elements of her scheme are falling into place. All pawns are moving where she guides them. Cogs are spinning in flawless synchrony.

xxx

**Reviews are LOVE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**To answer your question: no, unfortunately (although I wish it was) English isn't my native language. Am I making a lot of mistakes?**

**Anyway here goes the chapter.**

**xxx**

Darkness of the bag, that covers his head. Cold, sticky floor. Nauseating stench of his own sweat, vomit and blood.

And pain.

Pain most of all. Dull aching in his legs and arms. Dull aching, which turns into sharp, unbearable torture when he tries to get up. Jared's consciousness is coming and going. Every time he wakes up, somebody knocks him out again, so he doesn't have enough time or concentration to contact the pack. Or maybe this constant beating has damaged the part of his brain, responsible for mental bond with them? He doesn't know, he can't... can't think straight. He doesn't know what's real and what is just a creation of his feverish mind. One time he thinks he hears soft humming. Another time he hears something metallic, something like clicking of chains, but he's sure that he isn't shackled, so that must be a hallucination.

He feels a new pain on his wrist. Then he feels warmth, flowing down his arm.

"You know, doggie, your blood is repulsive, but it still has it's uses."

"Redhead."

"Yes, mutt?"

"Why didn't you... just... kill me?"

"Don't worry, you might get your wish sooner or later."

Something heavy falls on Jared's cranium and he slides into blackness once more.

xxx

When Edward watches her hunt down her first deer, he feels proud. And then he reminds himself to feel shame, sadness and betrayal. He's the one, who didn't come soon enough to stop her from becoming what she is now. He's the one, who interfered on her normal, human life and changed it forever. But she's the one, who didn't respect his decision and pursued her horrible dream against his will. She tricked Victoria to get what she wanted and by that, she turned her back on God! She bought a one way ticket to destruction of her soul. He's trying to be supportive, but he's angry and distant. He's trying not to feel this insane waves of love that are washing all over him whenever she's near.

"Dammit, Edward!" Alice's voice is irritated, like she is repeating an old lesson, to an exceptionally brainless student. "Watching you do everything in your power to make you both unhappy is almost funny! She is here, with you, the woman you love. The woman, who loves you and was ready to risk everything to spend an eternity with you. And you are pushing her away. _Again_**.** Now you can be together for a very, very long time. Maybe even forever, you know, because you and her are _immortal!_ Why would an immortal creature be so worried about afterlife? You can have what you want here, in this life. You can live with Bella. Why don't you see that?"

"Because we don't _live_, Alice. We are an abomination, a perversion of God's design! And now Bella is doomed to have this sinful existence."

"You are mad! Vampire – zealot? Now, that is an abomination! You have a religion instead of a brain, brother. And if you don't snap out of it..."

"She betrayed me!"

"You left her. You broke her heart."

"By turning to Victoria, she disregarded my will."

"And what about her will, Edward? She's your girlfriend, not your property!"

"I had her best interest at heart. I wanted her to be human and she..."

"And she wanted something else. You are the one, who should have respected her will, not the other way around."

"What she wanted, was not good for her."

"Well, that is only your opinion. And since it's her life we are talking about, I believe it is her, who should be making decisions. Wouldn't you agree?"

"This decision is the one, that condemned her to oblivion."

"Again, your opinion. You don't know for sure if vampires really have no souls. You don't know for sure if they cease to exist if they die. You don't even know for sure if souls, god or any afterlife exists! You know _nothing_ for sure. You just made a choice to have faith. Faith, that not everyone shares. Faith, that eats you up from the inside like a cancer. Faith, that doesn't allow you to enjoy living, love or anything else. Why can't you listen?"

Edward doesn't listen. Not to her words, not to her thoughts. After all, they had this conversation so many times before. Everything that was there to say, has been said already. And his sister will never understand. And the rest of his family, they are all so happy! Like it is a good thing that Bella is a monster! How can they be so selfish? How come none of them minds what Bella did? They're so content and practical. Cheerful and ready to act, not for one second thinking about the tragedy that occurred.

When they fake Bella's death for public's sake, she doesn't want to know the details. She must be in pain, when she thinks about all the sadness she had cost Charlie and Renee. She's also not ready to face the werewolves. She says, she can't look them in the eyes and admit, that she cowardly left one of them to die. None of the Cullens have a problem with that. As far as the wolfs are concerned, Bella was never found. At least for now. She is so defenseless, so childlike in her new state. He knows, that despite all else, he could never live without her. When she looks at him, there is love and a silent plea for attention in her eyes. And when he's unwilling to give it to her, someone else does it with joy.

Alice is more than happy to steal every moment of Bella's time for herself. One moment she nearly forces her to try some dresses, next moment they both talk about something so quietly, that even Edward can't hear them. At first Bella says something seriously, then Alice pats her on the arm and a moment later they are giggling like a pair of school girls. That mystery is solved within the next few seconds, when Bella strolls to Edward and, with slight hesitation, she begins to speak.

"Edward, a lot has happened. I think we need to talk."

"You're right."

"In private."

"In private?" A small smirk appears on his lips. "How do you imagine that with our little seer?"

"I already asked her. She promised she won't look at us. We will have time all for ourselves." she smiles coyly. "Pleeease?"

xxx

Before they can leave, Jasper stops Edward. He looks concerned. Almost fearful.

"Edward, I need to tell you something. It's about Bella."

"Yes? What is it?"

Edward could just read his mind, but he's in a hurry. Besides, he usually tries to avoid breaching the privacy of his relatives.

"Edward, her emotions... There is something wrong with them."

"Wrong? Wrong how?"

"She's... cold. Any emotion I can feel from her is weak, like... like she fakes them. Except one. Fury."

"Jasper, she's a newborn. They're fickle and unstable, you of all should know that. That's just a phase and it will pass."

"You are probably right. But it's just... I remember how it felt, when I was near Bella, when she was human. She was so soft, loving, caring. And now... I know it sounds crazy, but she just feels like she isn't Bella any more!"

"You're right. It _does_ sound crazy. But, in a way, you're right. She isn't Bella any more. At least not Bella we knew. She is now a monster, like the rest of us."

Jasper groans.

"Oh, Edward, you and your thick head. You just never listen, do you? I'm trying to tell you..."

"What? What is it, that you are trying to tell me?"

"It's just that..." Jasper seems to be short of words. "She's changed Edward. She's different now. And she's angry. Angry at you. And she's... content. Happy in some new way. Sinister way. I can't really decipher that one. Perhaps all of this really is just a newborn phase, but..."

"So, Bella's angry at me? I left her, Jasper. I had my reasons, but she has every right to be upset. We have a lot to fix between us. She's waiting, so if you excuse me..."

Edward turns from his brother, joins Bella outside and then they leave without looking back.

xxx

Victoria is as careful, as she can be. Their plan is a detailed one. There's no place for mistakes. All her senses are on highest alert. The smallest sound or smell, the movement, noticed in a corner of an eye and she'll be instantly ready to run. She gets as close to Cullen's house, as possible without the risk of detection. No man's land, between the territory of vampires and werewolves.

She takes a plastic bag out of her pocket. She opens it and spills some of mutt's blood on the ground. Then, after a moment of consideration, she breaks a tree branch and spills a few more drops. She throws herself on the grass, creating a hole. After a few more seconds of systematic and creative devastation of her nearest surroundings, Victoria stops to judge her work.

She smiles cheerfully. Job well done. Now, she is ready for a meeting.

xxx

"Do you still remember, Edward?"

Meadow. Their meadow. He remembers. He could never forget. He would cherish every word that was spoken here for as long as he exists.

"Our meadow." He says. "A lot has changed."

It's painful to look at it now. Once so colorful, so full of life. Now dry, faded and dead. He looks at Bella. Once so warm, so human... It's painful to look at her too.

"Why did you leave me, Edward?" She comes straight to the point.

"Bella, you were human. It wasn't within my right to take it away from you."

"But it was within your right, to take my heart away from me? My reason to live? My happiness?"

Her crimson eyes are staring straight into his and now he thinks he understands what Jasper meant, when he said she has changed. Her voice is strong. He never thought it can hold so much strength before.

"I had to save your soul. Even if it was against your will, I had to do it for your own good."

Glint of something that Edward doesn't like shines in her eyes.

"So, you're the one, that gets to decide about my life? I'm not allowed to make my own choices?"

"Bella... I love you."

"I think that, subconsciously, all this time I knew. I just couldn't let myself believe that. It would hurt to much. I know that you love me. The sad part is, you don't respect me. And you, most likely never will."

He tries to figure out what to say to that, but the words are failing him. Does he respect Bella? But, of course! How can she think otherwise?

"I do respect you. I don't understand..."

"Are you glad, that we can be together forever? Are you glad, that I'm like you now? Are you?"

"Bella, nothing makes me happier, than having you beside me."

He smoothes her silky hair.

"But if I could turn you back, I would."

She nods with a sigh.

"Yes, I expected nothing else from you. Well, that seals it, I guess."

"I..."

"Shhh..." she gently places her finger on his lips. "There is something I couldn't have, when I was human. But now I can." She starts to unbutton his blouse.

"Bella, no! We are not married."

"What? Are you serious?" She bursts into laughter.

"Yes. Don't think, that I didn't dream of it, but this just isn't right. Trust me, I..."

She doesn't let him finish. With her newborn strength, she pushes him on the dried grass beneath them and sits on his stomach.

"You said that you respect me. Yet you didn't respect my decision to become a vampire. You did, what _you_ decided. You always do. But you _will_ respect my wish now."

In one swift movement, she rips his shirt off him, leaving his chest glittering in the sun.

"Stop!" He shouts sharply. He tries to grab her arms, but she's faster. Her steely, sinewy fingers clutch his wrists in a steady grip. She's a newborn, she's stronger then him and she knows it. She relishes in it. Oh, God! He is starting, for a first time in decades, to feel fear. And something else.

"Bella, I said NO!"

Her laughter is filled with malice and so are her eyes.

"And I said YES!"

She closes his lips in ravenous, sharp kiss. He can feel her teeth, scratching his skin. When she tears away from him, her eyes are burning with lust and rage.

"I want you, Edward." she lowers her head to his ear. "And I will have you."

"Bella, not like this!" He protests faintly. The sight of her face takes his breath away."We could marry, we could do this the right way. If you only wait..."

"No. I don't think so." She drawls leisurely. "I've waited long enough, for you."

xxx

He imagined it many, oh so many times. If he was still able to sleep, he would dream about this every night. He could almost picture Bella's naked body under his own. He could almost taste her lips.

But in those fantasies, everything about it was different. Their first time was meant to be something gentle, something innocent. They were suppose to discover each other slowly and delicately. Their bodies were suppose be the extension of their love.

Love...

This act is certainly an extension of something, but it isn't love. It is something brutal, something wild and depraved.

"Bella... You are so... different."

"You have no idea."

And Bella is nothing like this gentle creature he use to know. She is an animal in the mating frenzy. She is a savage, taking his body like some sort of spoils of war. She wants to poses him with greed that frightens him. Her kisses are almost ripping his head off, her touch is like fire and her eyes are pools of lava, in which he drowns.

"Are you mine?"

"Oh... Bella..."

"Are. You. Mine?!"

"Yes! I'm yours. I'm yours only!

He screams and so does she. But her scream holds more triumph than pleasure.

xxx

He dresses in a hurry. He feels dirty. Bella looks at him with amusement.

"What's the matter, dear? Was it not like you always dreamed it would be?"

He looks at her. At her feline, loosened shape. At her sensual, predatory smile.

"Bella, I want you to know, that I love you and I am sorry."

"For?"

"For ever coming into your life. For taking away your peace. For tainting your soul. For..."

"You aren't going to apologize for leaving me, are you? Or for not turning me when I asked you?"

His silence is all the answer she needs.

"What a hot scene. I should have bring a camera."

He turns around with a hiss. He has to admit, she's fast. She stands not more than ten meters away from him. He should have heard her, smelled her sooner, but he was occupied with... other matters.

"You just made your last mistake, Victoria."

"Oh?" she raises her eyebrows. "And what, If you don't mind, is my mistake?"

"You came here all alone. It's two against one. Face it, you're outnumbered."

She gives him a smirk. Her thoughts are only about her victory and his demise. He's becoming irritated. What an overconfident creature! He's about to lunge at her, but something stops him. Pair of hard arms locks him in a steely embrace. He turns his head only to see Bella's face.

"What? What you..."

"You are right, _love_. There is two against one. But you see, you're the one outnumbered." she whispers seductively.

Victoria's smirk if widening.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Eddy boy. You're about to find that out."

As she takes his head between her palms, he looks into Bella's eyes. Her icy gaze is piercing his heart with the power of thousand daggers.

"When we put you back together, the real fun will begin."

"Bella?" He asks, his voice quivering.

She grins with glee.

"Bella's not here any more."

Victoria tugs violently and as his world shutters, Edward Cullen hears a sentence, echoing in his mind.

_And all of this could have been avoided if you would just... let her love you. _


	7. Chapter 7

_So... we did it, Isa._

"Yes, Bella, we did."

_This was wrong!_

"You're starting with this shit again? You've given him all the chances you could."

_I know, but..._

"If it was up to me, we wouldn't even ask him those stupid questions. 'Oh, Edward, are you sorry for leaving me?' 'Oh, Edward, are you sorry for not turning me, when I pleaded with you to do so?' 'Oh, Edward, Edward, Edward.' What an emo bullshit! If it wasn't for you, me and Victoria would just take care of him the moment we got to the meadow. Why did you even want me to play sentimental wuss with him? Why did you ask me to do this stupid scene? What were you trying to achieve?

_You know, trying to make him understand, talking to him was my suggestion, but... But forcing ourselves on him was your idea entirely._

"At least I had something for myself out of this delay in my schemes. Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it. All those fantasies you had, all your musings and imaginings... I just brought them to light. Oh, don't frown on me, Bella. One might think, that after getting laid you would finally mellow out. But, back to the point, why did you want me to try reasoning with him?"

_I was just hoping, that maybe... That he might... be sorry. That maybe, he would see what he did to me and regret._

"Don't worry, duckling. He'll regret soon enough. He'll regret not only leaving you, he'll regret he was ever born. We will work on him for as much time as we like and by the end of it, he'll be begging for death."

_Isa, we shouldn't..._

"Your voice lacks conviction. You're just saying this because you think it's what you should say. Your righteous objection was noted. You can return to admiring the view. And there will be a lot to admire, I assure you.

_Isa..._

"No, Bella, don't play that good girl stuff with me. We both know you want this. Tell me, what did you feel when Victoria ripped his head off? When you looked at the last glimpse of light in his eyes. What did you feel?"

_I don't want to._

"Go ahead, you know you can tell me. Open your heart.

_I felt relief. And... No! I won't tell! I hate myself for even thinking it!_

"Come on, let it out. Finally be honest with me and with yourself. Say it."

_Freedom. I felt free. Liberated in some new kind of way and... alive and satisfied. I know what we did was wrong, but that doesn't change how I feel._

"There you go! Don't be afraid of those feelings, Bella. Embrace them. Let yourself live."

_Isa, I..._

"Shush, it's almost ready. One last thing and we can begin to play with our ex. But I can't be murmuring to myself, or Victoria may get an impression that I'm crazy. Just relax, Bella. I will take care of everything."

xxx

"That was a long journey. All the way to Phoenix, with two prisoners. Are you sure about your choice of place, Victoria?"

"Completely. What now, Isa? I'm sure you have it all planned to the last detail."

The werewolf lies on the floor, still out cold. Edward Cullen's headless corpse is chained to the wall. His head is just waiting to be reattached. Expression of his dead face... exquisite. The sight of agony and surprise... Victoria wonders if James's face looked anything like it when...

"Now" Isa's smile is as cryptic as ever "We provide the necessary distraction."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Cullens and werewolves, my dear. We can't have them spoil our fun. They can't be looking for our guests, especially not together. They must be occupied with something else. Occupied with each other. I've spent enough time with our mutts to know, that they have no love for vampires. _Any _vampires. True, they made a treaty with Cullens, but you should have heard all that hatred in their voices, when they spoke of them. 'Leeches', 'bloodsuckers', 'murderers', that's how they always call them. I think all it takes is a little push. And I bet it works both ways. After all, Cullens trust me. And they will do anything, anything at all, to save me and their brooding, pretty boy. Watch this."

She takes out her cellphone and dials a number.

xxx

Bella, alive and well. Her friend and new baby sister. Finally, everything is as it should be. Alice is overjoyed to be with her. The crisis is over, Edward's stupid ideas didn't destroy their chance to be a family. Bella is here. Bella with red eyes, hard, cold skin and any other attribute of a vampire. Finally, the family is complete. This is the end of depression, tension, nervousness and longing. The only problem is Edward's attitude, but he'll come around.

When Alice gets Bella back, she is like a kid, who got a new Barbie doll. She dresses her up, she takes out her cosmetics and plays. Bella doesn't protest. Her mind is somewhere else. She's thinking, as she explains, on how to repair her relationship. And she has an idea.

"Alice" she says and if she was human, she would be blushing. "I need some time alone with him. You know, 'alone' time'." she laughs nervously. "I... words may not be enough, Alice... You just have to promise me, that you won't look at our future. I need some real privacy, you know."

Alice giggles girlishly and Bella responds in kind. As they laugh together, Alice feels warmth and she's just so happy to think about all those decades, they have for their friendship.

"Sure, Bella. No problem. My eyes will be shut. Edward is all yours." she promises eagerly.

When Bella and Edward are going for a walk, she averts her senses from the future. However, some time later, Jasper starts to freak out.

"I'm telling you, Alice, you really should check what's going to happen."

"Jazz, I promised her."

"I know, but it's just... Her emotions... Come on, just do a little, tiny peep. What's the harm in that?"

"The harm, is that I gave my word. I don't know about you, but I take that quite seriously."

Jasper is pacing around the living room. Anxiety is radiating from him to every Cullen in reach.

"Alice, it's been four hours. Just look at them for no more than a second. Do it for me."

"Come on, just do it, so he could shut up." Emmett supports his brother.

Alice groans, but before she manages to formulate a response, her cellphone starts ringing.

"Alice, help!"

"Bella?"

"Yes, you gotta help me!" Bella's voice trembles."Werewolves, they... they think that you turned me, they say that it's a violation of a treaty and... And they think we kidnapped Jared. Help! Oh, no, they're going to kill us! Please! Edward! Edw –!"

"Bella?!"

Static. Just static. And six Cullens, frozen in fear. This time Alice doesn't need an incentive to look into Bella's future, but... There is nothing.

"I can't see..." she mutters. Her eyes are widening in horror.

There is no need for words. Every Cullen sprints into the forest. They are inhaling, using all their vampire sense of smell, to pick up on Edward and Bella's trace, to find them before it's to late.

xxx

"And now, we throw a bone to the other party."

xxx

"Wake up, mutt."

This awakening, like any other, is painful and bitter. Jared's consciousness is coming back from that worm, safe darkness, he's been hiding in. He's back and he must feel again.

"You're gonna do something for me, dog."

"In your dreams, bitch!"

Strong, horrible kick on at ribcage. He loses his breath.

"I'll call your friend, Sam and you're gonna say to him what I tell you to say. You got that?"

"I will never... I won't do your bidding, you who –!"

Another kick. And another, followed by a few more.

"I'm not gonna get tired, you know. I'm just going to beat the shit out of you until you come to your senses and do as I ask."

"I won't!"

Pain. More and more of it. Loud cracks and screams. Screams he's unable to hold back. And Jared realizes, that as much as he wants to play hero, he can't do it forever.

"Are you ready to comply, dog?"

"I would never... Aaaaaaaargh!" he feels a wave of unimaginable pain, exploding in his broken leg. "All right, all right! I'll do it. Just... stop."

"Good choice."

xxx

_It's the second day. The second day!_ Embry's voice is loud in pack's collective mental space. _We still __haven't heard anything from him except..._

He stops. They all know what he means. These short flashes of vision... The darkness, the suffering... These flashes are both curse and a gift, because thanks to them, they know that Jared is still alive. Somewhere, somehow, he's still alive. But they can't localize him. Those visions hold only darkness and pain. They're just enough to convince them, that they still have their brother, but not enough to lead them to him.

_We all know who has him! _Aggressive, angry voice. Paul's voice. _It's those filthy Cullens! _

_Paul! _Sam reprimands _There are absolutely no clues, that would indicate... _

_Save it, Sam. _That's Quill. _They're leeches after all. They came back right at the moment he went missing. That's just to convenient for a coincidence, don't you think?_

_Whoa, let's not jump to conclusions._ Jacob decides to play devil's advocate. He doesn't want to defend those stinking leeches, but he knows that's what Bella would want. _There can be millions of other explanations._

_Like what?_

Silence.

_We all know..._

_No, we don't know. Our ancestors made a decision. They decided, that it's a right thing to do, to make peace with them._

_Our ancestors were wrong. They trusted vampires! Vampires, for Christ's sake! It was only a matter of time, before..._

_Now, that is enough! _Sam cuts in imperiously. _We will not go against them without proof._

_And what more proof do you want? _That's Leah. _First Bella Swan disappears, now Jared and our charming bunch of undead assholes chose this exact time to return? _

Something interrupts them. It's the sound of Sam's cellphone. Leader of the pack shifts to his human form and answers it.

"Hallo?"

"Sam?" it's Jared's voice. Weak, tormented, breathy. "Sam it's them! Cullens, they... They kidnapped me!"

Werewolves are holding their breaths.

"They don't know I just broke free. They... No, please, no! Cullen, st..." static.

"Jared? Jared?!"

Static. Uncaring, mechanical static. And this hardening resolve. Now no one has any doubts, not even Jacob. Their brother just confirmed every suspicion they had.

Cullens are the enemy.

Werewolves are growling and running at their full speed to meet this treacherous family of bloodsuckers.

xxx

"Are you sure this is gonna hold him?" Isa points at chains, that are around almost all of Edward's body.

"Yes, this is titanium. It's so thick, that it looks grotesque, but it'll hold. I've heard that Volturi use that stuff. You know who are Volturi, right?"

"I've heard of them once or twice."

Iisa and Victoria exchange looks and nod in agreement. Victoria takes Edward's head and meticulously, she covers the inside of his neck with her venom. Then she places it on the gash on his torso.

They both wait patiently until some resemblance of awareness returns to his eyes. Then they fill with fear, pain and sense of betrayal.

"Welcome back."

xxx

**Reviews would be GREAT!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Welcome back."

Awakening. Harsh, painful and bitter. Edward's neck is sore, his sight is blurry and when it becomes clear, he can't believe what he's seeing.

Thick chains, binding him tightly to a wall. Victoria's red curls and triumphant smile. Unconscious, young werewolf on the floor...

"The one, that went missing." he gasps.

""Yes." Victoria's smile widens. "Jared, if I remember correctly. I'm sure you're wondering why isn't he shifting? You know, killing me, escaping, all that stuff. Look at his limbs. They've been recently broken, you see. And left on the wrong angle. Then this super-werewolf-healing thing kicked in. Now he can't walk, can't crawl, can't even flinch. Well, he could flinch, but it wouldn't be too pleasant. And on another matter, what do you think about the place?"

Mirrors. Dim, scorched mirrors all around him. His own face looking at him with trepidation from every direction. He never thought he would come back here. If he could have nightmares, this would be the scene of most of them. He can nearly taste the memory of his own panic and desperation, when he was rushing here with all his speed to stop, to prevent... He can almost see James's slim shape, Bella's bleeding hand, blazing pile of body parts...

"I see you still remember. Poetic justice, isn't it? Here you took my mate away from me, here you're gonna share his fate. And get a little something extra before that."

"You will never get away with this!"

"Won't I? You think your precog sister will see you? Look at this werewolf and think again. Pixie can't see you."

"And your family have their own problems now."

Isabella Swan emerges from the shadows. The sight of her sends daggers of pain to Edward's chest. The wound he had there for months, the wound that closed when he saw her again, is now reopened.

And pain is sharper than ever before.

"Bella..." he mutters with misery.

Bella. The only woman he ever loved. His dream. The meaning and purpose of his existence.

The one that held him down, while Victoria ripped his head off.

He wants to ask why, wants to scream, to cry...

"Cullens won't be looking for you." she states calmly "I took care of that."

That sobers him up a little.

"What you mean? What did you do?!"

"I started with planting some evidence..."

xxx

Their almost on Cullens ground when they smell this. Blood. Werewolf's blood.

They watch in horror at the scene ahead of them. Broken branches, ripped plants, distinct scent of a vampire... and clotted stains of blood. Jared's blood.

_This is it! This is where they kidnapped him!_

_Yes! But he must have put up quite a fight._

_No matter, they took him any way._

_That proves it beyond doubt, leeches have him and we will take him back!_

The pack runs after them.

xxx

"Of course, before we took you out of our meadow, we left lots of traces for your family to find..."

xxx

"Oh, no!"

Signs of struggle. Marks on the ground, mixture of smells and a few pools of vampire venom.

And some werewolf fur.

"We're too late." Esme's voice is quivering. "We didn't make it in time, they are..."

"Don't say that, mum!" Emmett interrupts. "We don't know, we can't be sure."

Eyes of every Cullen rest on Alice.

"I can't see them. It's blank, I can't... I'm sorry."

They all have their faces before their eyes. Edward and Bella. It just isn't real, isn't right, isn't acceptable. They can't be dead. They couldn't have disappeared from their lives. It just can't be!

Silence. Heavy, grave silence. Jasper is the one who breaks it. Barely controlled anger is evident in his voice.

"Werewolves." he says. "If they're alive, werewolves have them and if... if..."

xxx

"If we're dead, then the treaty doesn't apply any more." Bella grins sardonically. "The same goes if we're kidnapped, naturally."

"Bella, how could you?! They'll be at each others throats..."

"Which, _love_, is exactly my intention."

xxx

They meet in the woods. They fall on each other between the territory of wolves and the one of the Cullens.

Sam Uley shifts instantaneously. Nobody minds his nudity. This is not the time for modesty.

"I'm going to say this once." He starts forcefully. "You will give us our brother back. And in return we shall let you leave Forks and never return. Yes or no?"

"You bastard!" Rosalie snaps "What have you done to Edward and Bella?!"

"Rose, let's try to stay calm." Carlisle tries to sound soothing and diplomatic. "Perhaps we can solve this peacefully."

"Peacefully?! You kidnapped one of us!"

"One of you, dog?!" Emmett is on the verge of yelling "You tell us and you tell us _now_! What have you done to Bella and Edward?!

Werewolves growl in unison. Sam silences them with a single gesture.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Edward and Bella Swan. We received a call..."

Sam Uley watches as the father of leeches opens his treacherous mouth. What is he even talking about? Bella Swan? Edward? He knows that he should at least listen. Listen to his arguments, his explanations. He knows that after all those years of peace, he owes him that much. He knows he owes it to his ancestors, that decided to make the treaty with this family. He knows, that he should at least try to solve this peacefully.

But when he looks at him, all he can see are stains of Jared's blood on the grass. All he can hear is his tortured voice, asking for help through the phone. All he can think of is the feeling of nausea, pain and fear, that were transmitted to him from his friend's mind.

He knows, that Jared's life is in danger. He knows, that those leeches are responsible. He knows, that he is a leader of the pack above all else, and his duty right now is to save Jared. Save him at any cost. If he has to rip every Cullen to shreds, so be it.

That's why he refuses to listen to bloodsucker's lies.

"Enough! We will not be fooled by your tricks."

"Sam, please..." Even now, even at this moment, Carlisle Cullen tries to reason, to convince, to delay the bloodshed. He tries, but even he can't deny his own feelings.

He looks at those creatures. The ones he made a treaty with all those decades ago.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Carlisle spent his whole life believing in peace. He believed in the possibility of peaceful coexistence between one nation and another, between vampires and humans and when he met werewolves, he wanted to prove, that peace is possible in this case too.

For years it worked. There was no friendship. Fragile tolerance would be more appropriate term. Two sides never learned to trust or like each other, but it worked. And Carlisle was proud.

Werewolves and vampires lived side by side. Passing years proved this decision to be the right one.

But now Carlisle remembers Bella's trembling voice, he remembers her words, he remembers what he saw in the meadow.

And he's no longer certain if peace with Quiletes is possible.

Carlisle knows Jasper could try to calm everybody down with his talent. He knows, that he would fail. It's difficult to pass peace on others, when he himself is angry beyond words. He also knows, that he will not try.

"No, vampire. We will speak no more. Give us Jared, or we'll take him back ourselves!"

"We don't have Jared. You are the ones who..."

Roar. Choir of roars from throats of all wolves. Sam Uley changes into black beast. At his command, the pack attacks.

Cullens respond in kind.

xxx

"Ironic, isn't it? The treaty, that existed for decades and now it ends in one day."

Edward listens in horror.

"Why, Bella, why?!"

"You left."

Two simple words, that fall on him with a force of an avalanche.

"So your quarrel is with me. Leave them out of this."

"They left too."

"Because I told them to!"

"And they obeyed. They could have refused, but they didn't. They could have turned me against your wish, but they didn't. They could say no to moving out. They didn't. They're not as responsible as you, but make no mistake, they are responsible."

"Bella..."

Her lips twist into smirk.

"You keep calling me that and you shouldn't."

"But..."

"I've already told you. Bella's not here any more."

He looks into her eyes. Bella he remembered had warm, adorably shy eyes. Those eyes are nothing alike. They resemble a pair of red diamonds. Red is a color of passion, of love, of blood, of heat, but diamonds... Diamonds are cold. Cold and merciless.

Bella he remembered had sweet, gentle smile. This smile is icy and sadistic.

He ventures into Victoria's mind in search for answers. And Victoria just started to understand. She reminisces. She thinks about...

_"Victoria, I... I don't... I didn't..." the girl is nearly crying right now and Victoria assures herself that she's been right about her victims nature, but then something happens. Swans heart returns to steady, healthy rhythm. Her breathing is calm. When she speaks her voice is confident with traces of humor._

_"Good evening, Victoria. I'm so glad you finally called. As I understand you're planing to kill me."_

And then, Edward is flooded with memories.

_"Perhaps you should consider my proposition. It just might be this better option you are looking for." _

_Edward, you come after him... but not alone. You take someone with you. Someone he will not suspect. Someone he trusts. Someone who will lure him away from his folks for a soppy reunion, to some isolated area where you and this someone can tear him apart. This someone is me. His ex, whom he knows as the most defenseless, harmless girl alive. His ex, who's betrayal will be like twisting a dagger in a wound. If you turn me into a vampire, you'll gain quite useful ally. Your pass to Edward – fucking – Cullen. Two of us, one of him. How do you like these odds?" _

Wave of memories, that fill him with dread.

_"Only 'happily ever after' I'm interested in is the one on Edwards ashes."_

_At first the girl looks at her with fright and surprise, almost animalistic panic as if she didn't remember that it was her who organized the meeting. But then her expression changes in an instant. She becomes calm, businesslike, almost friendly. _

_"The first time we spoke. At first you acted as if you didn't expect it. Like you didn't know why I'm calling." _

_"Let's just say that I have a very complex and rich inner life."_

_"It seems like right now I won't get anything more out of you, am I? No? Then at least tell me what's with the name. When I've been playing a peeping tom, I always heard people calling you 'Bella'. What changed?"_

_"I changed."_

Edward looks at this... This girl, this creature that looks like Bella and Jasper's words are coming back to him.

… _feels like she isn't Bella any more!_

His eyes are filling with terror and realization.

"You... you aren't... Who are you?!"

Cold gaze. Cruel smile.

"I am the piece of Bella's heart, which you torn out when you abandoned her. I am the voice, that whispered words of comfort to her ear when she cried after you. I am every desire, that she was afraid to admit. I am every thought she was trying to hide even from herself. I am her rage. I am her shield. I am her revenge.

I am Isa. Pleased to meet you."

Dozen of Edwards looks at him with equal fear. He struggles, but chains don't budge.

"You... You..."

"Hush, _love_. No more words. It's time for action."

They both come closer to him.

The pain starts.


	9. Chapter 9

Isa is hunting. Of course, none of the observers knows about that. They don't see the predator in her. All they see is originally beautiful woman on the dance floor. They see her heavy make up, her revealing, purple dress. Her slow, sensual movements. Lots of men are ogling her, but no one has made their move yet. It's okay. She's in no hurry.

Isa is dancing and losing herself in the music. Flickering lights of the night club, hypnotizing rhythm of the music, the smell of blood; so poorly hidden under those fragile skins... It's an enlivening night for her.

When she closes her eyes, she almost sees Edward's face, twisting in agony. His severed limbs, as she rips them and reattaches them and rips them off again. And again. And many times more.

He's Edward, so he resisted for hours. He didn't let out a single moan. For a time.

But finally he cracked.

Oh, the melody of his screams...

She sees more and more hungry looks. She ignores them, lets them make the first move. She twirls, twists her hips, memorizes.

"_Bella, I know you're still there, somewhere! I know you are!"_

"_Do you?"_

"_Yes, I – Aaaaaargh!"_

"_You're right. She's still there. Well, sometimes."_

"_What... What do you mean?"_

"_Sometimes she's there, in the back of my mind and talks to me. And sometimes it's just me. She's... asleep? Deactivated? Whatever."_

"_Bella..."_

"_Go ahead, keep talking to her. Maybe she'll hear you."_

"_Bella I know you! I know you don't really want to hurt me. I know... Aaaarrrhh!"_

"_Bella spent her nights crying and screaming after you. She risked her life just to experience the hallucination of your voice. She was the target of two vampires, defenseless and helpless. And all of that happened..."_

"_Stop!"_

"_...because..."_

"_No!"_

"_...you..."_

"_Aaaagh!"_

"_...ABANDONED..."_

"_Aaaaaaaagggh!"_

"_...her. So don't delude yourself, Edward and don't think, that she doesn't want you harmed."_

Blond guy from right corner of the room is advancing towards her slowly. His eyes are on her body. Good, just a few steps more... Slowly, he places his hands on her arms.

"You're so cold." he whispers, his mouth next to her ear.

"You could easily fix that."

Yes he could. Just not the way he thinks.

They dance. She relaxes even more, immersed in the rhythm.

"_I told you... I told you I still love you, Bella!"_

"_Are you familiar with an expression: too late, too little?"_

"_I only left to save you... to save your humanity... Aaaaaagh!"_

"_And? How did that work out?"_

Dark haired man approaches her from the left.

"Get lost, dude." blondie protests "That lady already has company."

Music is all around, flowing form each and every corner. Crowd is waving and mixing. Bella never showed her face in places like this. Well, now it's the time for Isa to catch up.

"Gentlemen, come on." she mutters seductively "I'm a big girl. There is plenty of me for the both of you."

She winks at them and slowly, she moves to the exit.

"_Bella, everything I said to you that day was a lie!"_

"_Well, she believed you."_

"_Aaaaaahhh!"_

"_And she started to hear voices, you know. Just like a lunatic."_

"_Oh, Bella!"_

"_At first it was only your voice. The voice she couldn't let go, the voice she needed to hear."_

"_Be... Noooo!"_

"_But later that changed. Another voice appeared. My voice."_

"_Oh, no! I didn't mean... I tried to make her hate me!"_

"_Congratulations. You succeeded."_

Two men are following her through the crowd of dancing couples. Their eyes are all over her body.

Like two moths to the flame.

Gently, she pushes the door and goes into the back alley. Sounds of the music still perfectly clear, even through the walls.

"_No, you don't understand! I... Aaah! I wanted her to hate me, so she could be free from me, forget me!"_

"_Since when is hatred followed by forgetting? No, no, Edward. Hatred is a mother of vengeance. Was it truly so unexpected? Did you really not see this coming?" _

The alley is dark, trashed and dirty.

"It's a little smelly here, don't you think?" brunet notices.

"So what?" Isa places her hands on both of their heads. "Nobody will interrupt us."

"_I suppose I should be grateful to you Edward. After all, if you didn't break her heart, I would never be made. You, _my love, _are the one, who created me."_

"_Bella, all of this can yet be stopped. I know you can hear me and I know you are stronger than she is. You can beat her!"_

"_Ha! Are you really naive enough to assume, that me and her are on opposite sides?"_

"_Aaaargh!"_

"_I'm her defender! Her friend! Her ally!"_

"_Aaagh! Bell... Aaaaaaaaaaaggggh!"_

"_I'm what she always yearned to be. Haha! I guess you could say, that I'm the swan to her ugly duckling."_

"_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggghh!"_

"_Now, now, Isa. I think you played with him long enough. It's my turn."_

"_Sure thing, Vick. I'll go grab us someone to eat."_

Isa hits their heads against each other so hard she almost crushes them. Both men collapse in an instant. Without any effort, she lifts them and throws them on her shoulders like two sacks of potatoes. In a blink of an eye, she defeats the distance between the club and a ballet studio.

"I hope you're hungry, Vicky. Dinner is served."

xxx

Edward loses the track of time quite quickly. There is only pain, only misery. And no way to check how long it lasts. It could be minutes, hours, days... He tries to escape, to find some happy thoughts to hide in, but all he can think about is Bella.

Bella, the woman he fell in love with. The woman he tried to protect, even against her will. The woman he left. The woman, who's sanity he destroyed. The woman he drove to madness. The woman he tried to stop from becoming a monster.

Eyes, like a pair of red diamonds. White hands, that bring him suffering. Voice so familiar and so different. The face that is Bella's. And isn't.

Isa. Isa, the aberration. Isa, the monster. Frankenstein's monster. And he is her creator.

And Victoria, of course.

"What's the matter, Eddy boy? Your screams gone awfully quiet. Feeling too comfortable?"

He grits his teeth, trying to stop himself from wailing. And he fails miserably. He screamed many times, he tried to appeal to Bella, but there is one thing he won't do. He isn't going to beg. Not now, not ever. He will not give them the satisfaction.

Victoria has her fun with him for a long time and then Isa returns. She carries two unconscious humans. He tries not to look when they feed. He tries not to look at the creature that once was his Bella, as she sinks her set of sharp teeth in soft flesh and sucks it dry. The sight is a whole new source of pain for him.

Then they finish eating and everything becomes a timeless blur of pain. Tingling pain, dull pain, sharp pain. By now he knows them all. There are some discussions. He remembers fragments of sentences. Something like:

"All this time you were bullshiting me about how you 'changed'. You should have told me about your... condition."

"How do you imagine that, Vicky? 'Hello there, I have a split personality, what you say we work together?' Somehow I don't think it would be the best of my ideas. I thought you might not want to work with a nutcase."

"Well..." laughter "After a moment of consideration, I don't find it much of a flaw. Actually, it suits you pretty well."

Then there is some conversation about Forks, about going there, about seeing how things are playing out. Victoria leaves, he thinks, and there is another portion of agony. He didn't suffer like this since... yes, since his change. His change...

"_You are a monster, Carlisle!"_

"_Edward, please..."_

"_Yes, you are. And you turned me into a monster too!"_

"_You were dying and I gave you a new life."_

"_Life? You dare to call this life?!"_

Life... Edward almost smiles, as he remembers the sentence, that he himself have said, not so long ago. The sentence, that right now is echoing in his mind.

_...we don't live, Alice. We are an abomination, a perversion of God's design! _

Alice, his sweet and jolly baby sister. Carlisle, his understanding, always supportive father. Esme, the mother that was always there for him. Rosalie, the only one who ever shared his point of view on vampirism. Emmet, his lighthearted and careless bro, who could always put a smile on his face. Jasper, who's gift made them so much closer.

All of them are there, somewhere and he has no way to find out what's happening to them.

_...we don't live, Alice. We are an abomination, a perversion..._

Was there a battle with the pack of werewolves? If it was, then who won? Was anyone hurt? Did anyone...No! He doesn't allow himself to think like that. They're alive, they must be alive!

_...we don't live, Alice. We are an abomination..._

Images are flooding his mind. Cruel, uninvited images. Pictures of his family beaten and broken. He almost sees horrible gouges, chunks of flesh, torn out of their bodies. He sees each end every one of their faces disfigured and mutilated. All of them mauled and eaten alive.

_...we don't live, Alice..._

Please live, Alice. Please live all of you. If you're fighting, fight viciously. If you're running, run as fast as you can and don't look back. If you're hiding, choose your hiding places cleverly. If you're together, stay together. Please, don't let me be the cause of your death. Please, don't give up. Please, do not disappear from my life. Please hold on to your life, existence or however you want to call it. Please survive!

Please live!

Doors are opening and Edward sees the last face he expected to see.

"Alice?!"


End file.
